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Joe's Rants and Raves

Mar 25 - 12:32 PM:
Keep your finger on the pulse people. : Joe McBane

In keeping with our ultra connected, tech savvy society we provide you with a few updates to our web service.

RSS feeds are now available. They come in a choice of three options. Draft updates, blog/rant updates and full updates. If you are not familiar with RSS feeds let me enlighten. You sign up (for free of course) and then start receiving alerts of any content changes to the site from areas you have expressed an interest in. It saves you the time of continually checking. Never miss that rare keg of beer again. Be one step ahead of the crowd.

Blog/rant comments. Due to requests we have added a comment function so that you can also cast an opinion on what ever musings I may have. Keep it clean folks!

Twitter. You can now read the last five Tweets made by the Tap and Mallet on the website. I suggest signing up and following. It is a cool way to have an insiders look at what is going on down at the pub. Aren't we all Twits at heart anyway?

It seems to me that British session ales have lost a lot of popularity based on where they were just a few years ago. When I say this I am not refering to beers such as Boddingtons, Newcastle, Bass etc. I am speaking of rare boutique examples that come with a high price tag. By pricy I mean $6 a pint and upwards. I think that when people decide to spend that kind of cash they have come to look for a bigger bang for their buck in terms of both flavor and ABV. I also think that the average craft drinker has come to the realization that they just love a big hop presence in their pale ales that simply don't show up in British beers.

It is something I have observed through my day to day work. I have also noticed less availability on a whole sale level so I would assume that is a reflection of the current market demand.

Feb 28 - 04:59 PM:
American Men's Bathroom Etiquette from an English Point of View : Joe McBane

As with anyone who enjoys the pursuit of drinking good beer, I make regular trips to empty my bladder. I have noticed over the years that the typical American male adheres to a number of unwritten, but carefully followed rules when using the public facilities.

1. As with all Americans when going to use the facilities, they commonly refer to them as the bathroom or restroom. I have yet to see a bath or Lazy Boy recliner in one of these rooms, and find the toilet to be a much more reflective term to describe the goings on.

2. Avoid eye contact at all times. This includes entering and exiting. In the event that inadvertent contact is made, simply brush it off with a 'hey' and keep focused on the task in hand. I find this rule to be particularly strange, as it is still true when the person you have bumped into is someone who you know well, and frequently converse with.

3. The next rule comes with options. If all of the available facilities are occupied upon entry you have two choices. Many simply leave only to return with hope of greater success next time around. If they are clever, they have taken a quick head count and are able to stake it out from a safe distance before returning. For the brave ones who do wait, they must retreat to the maximum possible distance and proceed forward only when there is a direct and clear path.

4. When at the urinal you must look down and forward at all times. Although we all have the same equipment, peeking is strictly forbidden. This is the biggest (excuse the pun) rule of them all. Some men suffer from such stage fright in these vulnerable situations, that it all becomes too much and they head straight for the closed stall.

5. Once finished with the business in hand (pun apologies again) it is polite to wash those hands as quickly as possible in order to allow for a speedy exit for the next guy up.

So there we have it. That is what I noticed after 8 years of research on American soil. A counter culture social study of sorts. Back in England things are a wee (sorry) bit different. First of all, interaction is positively encouraged at all times. No one seems particularly shy. This is demonstrated in the style of urinal that is popular. Wall mounted troughs. If there is a gap in the action, you better squeeze in and go for it because if you don't the next person will. In fact the English are so brazen with the pursuit of reliving themselves, that the biggest problem is stopping people from peeing in the sink. Clearly this would be viewed as a depraved Medieval type behavior over here, that would cause many red blooded Americans to literally retreat.

Anyway there isn't really any point to all this other than put down some rather amusing observations that I have noticed over the years.